College courses for videogaming?

[LordofPurple]

I wanna study/practice game design in college and preferably get some kind of degree that'd help me get in the industry, but I have no idea where to start.
I've been ravaging Google for answers but I'm not even sure what to look for. I'm told that any degree having the term "game design" in it will be useless in the real world. I wanna know what courses I should take in college and what kind of degree I should go for, or at least have a GENERAL idea. I've found some colleges that look really good but the thing is I don't know what to look for in them. They may say "Learn game design!" but I'm not sure if that's all I should be looking for and just kind of hope that I learn along the way.

So yeah, any advice on courses/degrees I should go for, or at least a good place to find all this out?

 

[evilgenius134]

You are being a bit vague in 'Game Design'. There are many areas in properly developing a game. Having proper programming skills is good since you will know what is possible to code and how concepts can be coded.

It makes no difference if you take a programming course that you don't develop games in, you are developing a piece of software in the end, knowing programming paradigms, concepts, rigorous testing and development cycles is needed in any software design.

This is why 'Game Deign' is pointless as a degree, because if you abstract it, it's irrelevant you are developing a game. So proper programming skills, 3D design and Computer Science is much better for degrees.

 

[Gekkeiju]

I had a friend once wanting to do a similar thing to you and Im pretty sure he said that Physics was often a desirable thing too. Other than that..cant be of more help. Sorry!

 

[Snork Maiden]

I'd absolutely recommend taking a Computer Science degree - the only "game design" courses worth their salt have a heavy element of programming, and so by extension the vast majority of good game design courses are actually something like "Computer Science with Game Design." That said, I don't know why you wouldn't want to do straight up Computer Science - on almost any Comp Sci degree you'll be able to pick modules that suit a potential career in GD (like 3D Graphics and stuffs), and certainly at my Uni the only difference between "Comp Sci with Games Development" and straigh Comp Sci is that in the former you're locked into certain modules, whereas the latter lets you choose each semester.

A good Comp Sci degree will prepare you for a job in the games industry just as much as a good GD degree, the difference been that chances are a good Comp Sci degree will prepare you for work *outside* the games industry as well.